Made in Japan: PET Bottle Plastic Radiation Detector

Scintirex emits fluorescent light in varying degrees based on the level of radiation it detects.

Behold – the radiation detector made from the same plastic used in PET bottles, at a tenth of the cost of existing radiation detection machinery.

What’s more, the product, to be known as “Scintirex”, is made in Japan.

Close to four months on from the March 11 disasters and ensuing nuclear crisis at Fukushima Daiichi, with authorities now seeking to provide tens of thousands of radiation monitors for concerned parents and children, Scintirex could hardly be more topical.

The first Scintirex detectors could be available as soon as this fall, but the invention didn’t come about overnight. Dr. Hidehito Nakamura, an assistant professor at Kyoto University’s nuclear reactor research institute, said it has taken him five years to develop the material, which is designed to emit fluorescent light in varying degrees based on the level of radiation it detects.

“My hope is that one day in the not-so-distant future, everyone can afford to have a piece of their own radiation detector on their cellphone strap,” said Dr. Nakamura.

The substance is derived from same material used to make disposable plastic bottles, and could potentially be applied to a wide range of products ranging from portable survey meters, walk-through contamination monitors, to medical diagnostic tools, Dr. Nakamura says.

Teijin Chemicals, a unit of major Japanese chemicals and fibers company Teijin Ltd., has signed up to produce the material on an industrial basis and is currently applying for a trademark under the name Scintirex. After an initial testing period, the company plans to launch a first-generation detector using this material in September, Dr. Nakamura said.

And if Scintirex detectors come on the market, there should be plenty of demand. With the Fukushima nuclear crisis still nowhere close to being resolved, residents in northeastern Japan and areas of Tokyo remain on heightened alert for radiation levels. Tokyo ward authorities are conducting checks on radiation levels in schools, and state broadcaster NHK shows daily atmospheric radiation levels in the capital and northern Japan right before switching to the evening weather forecast.

Currently, French glass and construction materials giant Saint-Gobain is the only company that has a similar product on the market, but it has a much higher price point, according to Dr. Nakamura. Prices vary depending on the product application, he said, but they are generally over ten times higher than what it will cost to make devices with the newly invented material.